WOODBURY, Minn. - A young Minnesota angler has some serious new bragging rights, after catching the largest northern pike on record.
The Minnesota Department of Natural Resources (DNR) says Matthew Swanson caught the record 45 1/4 inch fish on the Rainy River last May. He was on an annual pike trip with his dad and brother. Matthew tells the DNR he had not reeled in a single big fish, while his dad and brother had boated several over 30 inches.
Desperate to get on the board, Matthew switched to the setup his dad uses, a streamer fly on 30-pound test line. He took a few casts and "the water exploded" as the record fish hammered the bait. They carefully netted the fish, took a few photos, and returned it to the water.
“Because this was to date my first and only pike on a fly, it was a very memorable experience,” Swanson said.
Swanson's record surpasses a fish of 43 1/2 inches, set by Maddy Ogg on Mille Lacs Lake in early October. In truth, Matthew Swanson had caught his record pike months before, but didn't turn in his record application until October.
The DNR announces new state records in news releases, on social media and on the DNR website.
